


If You Need Anything

by KizaKurosaki15



Series: Turk Testing Series [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23667571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KizaKurosaki15/pseuds/KizaKurosaki15
Summary: Part of my AU I'm working on which is called the Turk Tests AU, which revolves around the idea of a small handful of Turks being picked to undergo tests tocse hownthey would handle small doses of Mako, which leads to Reno being the only survivor. This particular story takes place after hes gone AWOL and has been living in the Slums again for several months.
Relationships: Reno/Cloud Strife
Series: Turk Testing Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704154
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	If You Need Anything

_"Hey, you okay?"_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Ha, you don't look it. Try to take it easy."_

_"I will. Dont worry about me SOLDIER boy."_

_"Hey, Reno? Reno-"_

"Reno!" 

The man startled, nearly dropping the glass he had in hands. He blinked slowly before his gaze drifted up to the person who apparently had been calling his name. For a moment, he was met with the same Mako eyes as his own, and that sight alone startled him. He had to blink again for those eyes looking at him with worry to turn back into familiar brown hues. He stared at the woman for a long moment, unsure of what to really say as he hadnt heard a damn word she had said. 

"Sorry, what?" He asked, the woman sighing, clearly exasperated. He couldnt help but give her an apologetic smile before finishing up on washing the glass in his hand. 

"I said, how much would it cost to rent out the entire bar for a party I wanna have with me and a bunch of my friends? Are you okay? You've been spacing out a lot lately. Like...more than usual. Something on your mind?"

Had he been spacing out more then usual. Yeah, the man supposed he had. As of late, since leaving ShinRa he had found himself thinking back on his times during the tests he and other fellow Turks had gone through. He found himself remembering the SOLDIERs he worked with during these tests. To be more specific, Zack. That man was the one he worked with most during that time. Zack was definitely one of his most supportive and motivational friends. He saw the good in people and only ever wanted to see these people succeed in whatever it was they were doing. When Reno had been picked to go through with these tests, Zack had been there as a witness to their first round of Mako injections and had sat with him as his body slowly either fought to accept the Mako or fought to reject it. Zack had been the one to first train with him, to walk him through the paces and changes the Mako would do to his body and mind. 

"Well?"

"Oh- ah...uh..." the redhead clearly had never been asked by anyone if he could rent out his entire bar to a single group of people for a party. "Let's just say...three thousand Gil." He finally settled on, turning his attention back to the glasses he was washing and moving about behind the bar, getting things ready to open up later in the evening. The man sighed as he dried his hands off, rolling his neck and shoulders, he could feel a stiffness that he had grown used to these days and a soreness on his heels that came with always being on his feet, running around making drinks, and food for his patrons along with taking them to their tables. Not only that he would need to bring down the sign out front that hung on the front of the bar and redo the paint on it and give it time to dry properly. While he puld technically use a ladder and sit on it to redo the paint he also knew people would try to knock said ladder out from under him. While he had lived here in the Slums before and had been raised here, with his going to ShinRa and becoming a Turk of all things. His popularity down here had diminished so much it, it was a shock no one had come by to try and burn down the bar he worked so hard to fix up and get running. 

"Hey, Red. I get that you like this Bar and everything...but why not become a Merc? Like me? Its gotta be better then having to deal with drunks all the time." The woman asked, a hand on her hip as she followed the man outside and around the back as he grabbed a ladder, she wordlessly grabbed the buckets of paint and followed him back around to the front. She had come to know Reno and become a friend of his when she had been passing through to do a job. And that job at the time was for her to chase said redheaded man out of the Slums. She was paid half of four thousand Gil to simply drive him out, but upon finding him sitting up on the roof of a old run down, falling apart bar, seeing him covered in sweat, dirt, and endless bandages around his fingers of both his hands, she couldnt help but feel for him. The guy didnt seem bad, she knew the basic details about who he was and who he used to work for. But he didnt seem horrible. 

"Nah, I've told ya, I'm done with fighting. I've had enough of that in my life." He responded with, walking up the ladder to the top with the buckets of paint, starting to get to work on the sign that read "Phoenix's Roost". Behind the black, bolded letters was a hand drawn Phoenix, its tail feathers seeming to flow over and behind said letters, its wings spread out wide. He had left the Turks and ShinRa after the remnants had showed up and tried to being back Sephiroth again. After that he decided that enough was enough and abandoned his duties as a Turk. This had lead to a rather tense time between him and his former friends. As second in command of the Turks he knew a lot of things that was a risk getting out to the public. "And dont even think about asking for any information because I already told you, I'm not telling you or anyone else anything. Your guys war against ShinRa or whoever these days has nothing to so with me." 

The woman sighed, many times she had asked him how much he would want for the information he had. And every single time the man would deny her. He seemed to still care for those who he used to work with and even though he left them and liked to pretend he wanted nothing to do with them, she knew that was far from the case. He missed them, things werent the same for him anymore and he hardly really had any friends. While she considered him a friend and while he saw her as a friend too, they weren't nearly as close as Reno had been with the other Turks. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say. Anyway. I gotta go, I got jobs to do and that's gonna help me pay for the bar. I'll see you later, Red." She said, waving to him but didnt wat for a goodbye in return, she knew she wouldnt get it. 

Once the redhead was sure that she was gone, only then did he finally relax. He liked her, truly, she was someone he could call a new friend. However that didnt mean that he was relaxed around her or anyone really. He was good at acting as if he was, he was good at pretending that he was completely fine when that wasnt the case at all. He was good at lying through his teeth, he was born and raised to do so. After all how else was he going to survive growing up in the Slums where one had to look out for themselves? That was what he lived by even when he joined the Turks. He supposed that's why he went through partners left and right until he was finally ended up partnered with Rude. Rude was the first and only partner he ever had who was willing to put up with his bullshit. He was patient and level headed compared to himself. It didnt take long for them to start working well together and becoming the best of the best partners among the Turks. 

Soon, they became the best of friends and would stay as such until he finally decided to leave. On that day he and Rude had a large disagreement, while it wouldnt have been their first, it definitely had been their worst. so much so it had lead to an actual fight. Rude wasnt going to let him leave just like that, no he was going to drag him back to the Turks kicking and screaming if he had to. Reno never thought he would find himself in that situation, never did he think he would actually fight his friend. Rude would have won that fight if he hadnt ended up distracted. That gave Reno the chance to leave, to run. Even after he had gotten away he had to lay low in sector 5 Slums, and it was during that when he found what is now Phoenix's Roots Bar. It took him a long time to actually fix up the once falling apart building to what it is now. Reno sighed as he continued to repaint the sign. When finished he went back inside, stopping at the doors when he saw a all to familiar man setting a box down on the counter. 

Reno could say by this point he had a decent business strict relationship with those of Avalanche and 7th Heaven. Truth be told he didnt actually think they would end up working so well together like now. At first Reno said nothing as he walked into the building. "Here I thought I wouldnt be getting that until tomorrow night." 

"That was the plan. But I finished the other deliveries I had early." 

Despite the many times he and Cloud had fought and viewed one another as an annoyance or enemy, they bow called one another occasional co-workers. Mainly because Reno often times traded and bought certain bottles and types of booze from Tifa and she did the same with him. Sometimes he would simply gather a box of different types of extra alchohol he had and sent it to her as a simple gift. And their preferred methods of delivery? Cloud. The man was always taking up job offers and Reno always made sure to pay well. After all despite the amount of time he had laid low, he still rarely left the comfort and relative safety of Sector 5 and his bar. After all, the second floor was where he had his room. 

"Better for Tifa and I then, wait here for a moment." 

Cloud nodded as he watches the redhead make his way upstairs to the second floor. It had been a while since news of Reno's abandonment of the Turks reached thebes of his small group of friends. They all had mixed reactions of thinking this was a hoax and to genuine belief. Cloud was one of the ones who didnt believe it, thought it a hoax, a lie. But when Rude showed up one day with Tseng and Elena, all three of them asking If any of them had any idea where Reno could be, he couldnt say or think it was a lie anymore. That however didnt mean that any of them actively went out looking for Reno either. If he left on his own, then who were they to try and convince him to go back? That was one less ShinRa employee they had to worry about. When they did finally find him, he was still setting up his Bar and Tifa had immediately offered to help him get set up. He was different, while he still kept that outwardly, annoying attitude of his, Cloud could tell that it was just an act. When they were alone, Cloud could see that he allowed himself to be how he was feeling. 

"Okay, here ya go. Tell Tifa I said thanks." He said handing the blonde two envelopes. He raised a brow at the confused look the other gave him. "Ah, the second envelope is for you, consider it a tip." He said, wordlessly pushing the envelops into Cloud's hand and moving to stand behind the bar, opening up the box and jumping right into pulling out the bottles to put away. 

"You...doing alright? Everything okay?" Cloud found himself asking, it wasnt often he took a moment to ask anyone else how they were doing. But Reno had...Reno had been through quite a bit, and probably still was. He and the others just simply didnt know. The redhead was a private man. Liked to keep to himself and liked to tell others to mind their own damn business. He could tell that Reno was taken aback by the question. 

"Uh...yeah. yeah I'm alright. Everything's fine." 

Cloud nodded, a slight awkward silence hung over them. Cloud remained there for a few moments longer, watching the other unpack before getting to his feet. "Gotta go....but if you ever need anything at all...." he trailed off as hs walked towards the door, pausing and holding his hand up to his ear. "Just give me a call." And with that, the man stepped out of the bar, leaving the redhead alone. 

And in that moment, Reno was seeing Zack walk out. It was bitter sweet, but while he saw Zack, he also saw Cloud himself. The fact the blonde, ex-SOLDIER said that and meant it....it was a huge leap for him. It was touching in it's own way. So much so Reno could t help but find himself smiling to himself. "I'll hold ya to that, Cloud." He mumbled to himself, humming softly as he prepared for another night of a full bar.


End file.
